MARTIN OFORI v. MAAME AMA SAH

This is the Judgment of the Court on an appeal from the District Court, Sefwi Sefwi.

The background to this Judgment is as follows: On 17th January 2018, the

Plaintiff/Respondent (hereinafter referred to as “the Plaintiff”) caused to be issued a

writ of summons against the Defendant/Appellant (hereinafter referred to as “the

Defendant”) at the District Court, Sefwi Wiawso claiming the following reliefs:-

“By virtue of PNDCL 111, Plaintiff seeks an order of this Honourable Court for a fair

share of the following property:

(a) All that house containing three (3) bedrooms with a hall and a detachable

Kitchen, toilet and bath including vacant plot in front of the house situate at

Sefwi Asafo bounded by the properties of Akua Korkor, Opanin Kwaku Taa,

Maame Yaa Adade all deceased, and Asafo-Wiawso trunk road is the

property of Plaintiff’s deceased father Opanin Yaw Ofori which the

Defendant has taken possession of same.

(b) An order for perpetual injunction.”

From the records, the Defendant did not file any counterclaim.

The trial District Court gave its judgment in the case on 17th October 2019, inter alia,

granting to the Plaintiff ‘one of the two rooms with direct and reasonable access to the

adjoining land on which the house is situate, and reasonable access to toilet, bathroom

and kitchen’, and restraining the Defendant from having anything to do with the

property granted by the Court to the Plaintiff.

Dissatisfied by the said decision, the Defendant, on 19th March 2020, filed in this Court a

notice of appeal pursuant to leave granted by the District Court, Sefwi Wiawso dated

13th March 2020.

Grounds of Appeal

The instant Appeal is grounded as follows:

a) The judgment is against the weight of evidence advanced at the trial.

b) The trial Magistrate erred in granting part of the house in dispute to Defendant

in spite of his finding that the plot on which the house is situate was acquired by

Defendant’s late mother.

c) Additional grounds to be filed upon receipt of the record of appeal.

From the records, no additional grounds of appeal were filed. This effectively reduces

the grounds of appeal to two, upon which grounds the instant appeal has been argued

by Counsel.

Fundamental Issue

However, there was a fundamental issue which escaped the trial Magistrate and which

has also escaped both Counsel in this Appeal. This fundamental issue has to do with the

capacity with which the Plaintiff instituted the action in the District